DOHA, April 23, (V7N) – The Rohingya issue has returned to the forefront of global discourse, thanks to renewed efforts by Bangladesh’s interim government, Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser Shafiqul Alam said today at the Earthna Summit in Doha.

Describing the plight of 1.3 million Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh as a humanitarian and regional security crisis, Alam said the issue had been fading from international attention until Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus placed it back on the global agenda.

He recalled that Prof Yunus raised the crisis at the UN General Assembly last year, which led to the adoption of a UN resolution and plans for a dedicated Rohingya conference at UN Headquarters in New York this September, expected to draw representatives from around 170 countries.

The Chief Adviser also reiterated the urgency of the issue in his speech at the Earthna Summit.

Alam highlighted a significant breakthrough at the recent BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok, where Bangladesh's High Representative on Rohingya Affairs, Dr Khalilur Rahman, secured a pledge from Myanmar to repatriate 180,000 Rohingyas.

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